Turkey

Turkey scored well on the Transparency pillar, fair on the Justice pillar, and poorly on the Participation pillar. Turkey’s Access to Information Law grants the public the right to access information pertaining to the environment, but only a limited amount of environmental information must be made proactively available to the public. As for the Participation pillar, only the environmental impact assessment (EIA) law provides opportunities for public participation at an early stage and there are no requirements to solicit public input for environmental plans, programs, or policies. For the Justice pillar, while the government’s decision to deny an information request is subject to a review, the law fails to ensure that the body conducting the review is independent or impartial. There is restricted standing for the public to bring environmental claims to court and the public cannot challenge decisions by private actors that impact the environment. By addressing these issues, Turkey could ensure the public has access to more environmental information, can provide input on more decisions that impact the environment, and can hold the government and private actors accountable for decisions that impact the environment.

Visit the Environmental Democracy Index to explore the EDI score.